Understanding Raskolnikov Through His Subconscious in Crime and Punishment - Literature Essay Samples

Dreams are considered a link to ones unconscious, able to offer explanations that the dreamer could not invent for himself in his waking state, (46). Sigmund Freud made revolutionary strides with the psychological implications of dreams in the late nineteenth century. But before Freud, Feodor Dostoevsky was using dreams as a powerful, psychological tool in his novel, Crime and Punishment. Dostoevsky manipulates his protagonist, Raskolnikov (Rodion)s, dream of a dying horse to indicate the source of his isolation to the reader and also comments on Raskolnikovs later theories.In order to demonstrate a pointed change in Raskolnikovs nature from before the event to after the event, Dostoevsky presents a very young Raskolnikov bearing traits that are pointedly absent from the adult version. In the beginning of the dream sequence, Dostoevsky describes the love Rodion has for the church, with its green cupola, (47). Rodions spirituality is emphasized when he kisses the grave of his dead br other, who he never met. The fact that Rodion exhibits great respect and affection for a person who he never knew (let alone loved) deeply contrasts to the older Raskolnikov, who is so disgusted with all humanity that he is rude and biting to even his best friend. There is also an important connection between the young Rodions homage to his brother and his later kissing the dirt of the marketplace; Just as he exhibits his respect to all people through his reverence to his brother, he later atones for his crimes against humanity by making the same action in a St. Petersburg street. The important point is that he already possesses this respect as a child, indicating that some event must alter his mindset, requiring him to regain it later in the novel. In addition, Rodions reaction to the beating of the animal is incredibly moving, as he cries and desperately tries to intervene, indicating he is emotional, a quality also lacking in the older version. Rodions innocence is emphasized as he is referred to as the child (48). He is also described as clutching to his father, who makes his only appearance in this dream as he tries to protect his son. In this way, his father appears to offer a sort of shield or safety for the young Rodion that he lacks in later life. It is only logical to assume that Dostoevsky presents this dream to the reader in order to give an explanation for Raskolnikovs schizophrenic personality. Vyacheslav Ivanov suggests that Raskolnikov (whose name is derived from the word Raskol, that means split or schism) renounces humanity, and splits off, and thus himself becomes split: the intellectual and criminal Raskolnikovor, on the other hand, the martyr to the faith in humanity as a spiritual integer (Ivanov, 584). This picture of Raskolnikov is a stark contrast to the young Raskolnikov who is presented as a spiritual, emotional, and healthy child. Through the dream, Dostoevsky indicates that Raskolnikov went through some major event that produced th e cold, Nihilist Raskolnikov known through the rest of the novel.In addition to producing a realistic picture of cruelty, Dostoevsky creates significant connections with later events in the novel via his use of imagery and symbolism. The fact that the victim is an animal offers the drunken crowd justification for their malicious beating, as they believe they are inherently superior. Interestingly, this mentality is similar to Raskolnikovs superman ideas later in the novel, adding irony to the event; Rodion becomes what he hates as a result of encountering it. In his essay, The World of Raskolnikov, Joseph Frank further debunks Raskolnikovs superman theory on the grounds thatthe feelings which inspired his altruistic love of humanity cannot co-exist in the same sensibility with those necessary to be a Napoleon, a Solon, or a Lycurgus. For the true great man, possessed by his sense of mission, cannot have any thoughts to spare for the suffering of humanity on whom he tramples for thei r own future happiness. (Frank, 577)Dostoevsky adds further irony to the dream as he describes the weeping eyes of the horse. This imagery is revisited during the murder scene where Raskolnikovs victim, Lizavetta, eyes are described right before he axes her. Dostoevskys injection of irony into the dream shows his criticism of Rodions superior attitude; Rodion is no better than the cruel drunks in his mentality and in his actions although these qualities result from his exposure to such evil. To strengthen the connection of the horse to other victims in the novel, Dostoevsky invokes images of Sonya, the eternal victim (Rahv, 565), since he describes the horse as small, lean, decrepit, (47) and bearing the weight of others (48). Most importantly, however, is the fact that this event greatly changed Rodions outlook on humanity. Dostoevsky allows us to see this event as powerful and scarring through his presentation of the horse and the drunks. The horses death is long and painful, and we see the child Rodion running helplessly about trying to end the suffering. One of the most heart-wrenching images is that of Rodion kissing the horses weeping eye. It shows us a child with more compassion than an entire crowd of adults. Dostoevsky characterizes the drunks by painting their faces, clothing, and eyes with the color red; They took up with them a fat red-faced peasant-woman in red cotton young men, as drunk and red in the face as [Mikolka]who, with blood-shot eyes, was standing with the crowbar (48-50). Dostoevsky uses red to indicate excess, in this case, alcohol. This is an important point that the young Rodion understandably seems to miss; the crowd is made up of drunks. The child doesnt understand that this horrible cruelty is coming from a relatively small group of intoxicated tavern-goers, who are by no means representative of the worlds population, and, as a result, carries this child-like notion that all humanity is cruel through to his adulthood. While this point gives us some insight as to Dostoevskys beliefs about the influence of childhood experiences, it also shows us how sinister this group of people must have appeared to the young Raskolnikov. If we chose to attribute that effect to Rodions age, in can also be noted that his father found the event atrocious enough to attempt to shield his boy from it since he probably guessed at the effects of viewing such brutality. In conclusion, Dostoevskys descriptions illustrate that the event was violent enough to cause a great emotional outburst from Raskolnikov and can therefore be deemed as scarring and significant.Dostoevskys placement of the dream sequence adds to its significance in the novel. In his essay, Frank expresses admiration for Dostoevskys craftsmanship as he explains why Dostoevsky chose to enter the tavern scene (where Raskolnikov over-hears a young officer and a student discussing motivations for killing the old pawnbroker) immediately before the murder sequence. Frank ex plains, The purpose of Dostoevskys juxtaposition and telescoping of the time-sequence is obviously for the reader to undermine Raskolnikovs conscious motivation for the reader, (Frank, 575). Dostoevskys structure gives the reader an understanding of Raskolnikovs motivations directly before the crime is committed. In the same way, Dostoevsky enters the dream sequence directly after Raskolnikov decides to avoid seeing his friend, Razumikhin, another indication of Rodions heightening isolation. Since the dream offers a source for this isolation, its placement is appropriate, giving further evidence of Dostoevskys brilliance and the dreams significance.Because of the psychologically damaging impact of the dream, Raskolnikov becomes disgusted with humanity and believes that he is superior to it because he is compassionate. This mindset brings on his isolation from society. The irony lies in his heartless actions against humanity, where he proves himself just as brutal as those he believe s his is superior to. He does this as he attempts to test his great man theory by murdering women as innocent as the dying horse. Dostoevsky communicates all this through the imagery, symbolism, and placement of the dream sequence. Dostoevsky used the dream as a window to the unconscious of Raskolnikov, with which we are able to gain a better understanding and sympathy for him. Before the dream begins, Dostoevsky even notes that dreams are artistically in harmony with the whole picture (46).

The Cold War Was A War Based On Ideologies - 1845 Words

AAfter the end of World War II, the world was split into two -- East and West. This marked the beginning of the era called the Cold War The Cold War was a war based on ideologies. The United States of America representing freedom and democracy and Russia representing order and socialism. These separated ideals is what started the deadliest competition in history, where both sides gathered intelligence on how other side was progressing and used that information as leverage against the other, this is known as Espionage. Espionage by definition is â€Å"The practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information†. This documentary will uncover the phenomenon of the cold war that is more†¦show more content†¦Project QKHILLTOP was the starting point in US affairs in mind control and neural research, this would help them in the growing battle of communism in America and allow them to control the minds of their enemies. The US obtained the idea during the Korean War when Chinese Soldiers, used brainwashing techniques to convert enemy US soldiers the method is a states: Assault on Identity Attacks on one s sense of belief and self, under constant brutal verbal assault for days, weeks and months at a time. 2. Guilt Making one feel bad attacking them constantly. 3. Self Betrayal Agreeing you are bad or not good. Once in guilt the Chinese soldier, forces the US soldier through physical or mental harm. To his family and friends that they are doing bad also. 4. Breaking Point The US soldier at this stage suffers questions one humanity and begins to completely break away and lose sanity. The US after the war becoming aware of these so called â€Å"mind control† techniques came to the conclusion that this method was to time intensive, so with the help of modern day sedatives, alcohol and drugs the US eventually completed their research, but the price was US lives with some even committing suicide. Therefore America s conduct of espionage during the Cold war similar to that of Russian espionage, when trying

The Impact Of Bond Market On European Government Debt...

2. The Impact of Bond Market on European Government Debt Problems 2.1. Bond Market The bond market is one of the fixed-income markets that it is deals in with transaction of long term fixed-income securities. Moreover, the bond is one of the financial instruments and then the financial instruments are generally regarded as securities. In the bond market, there are two bonds familiar to mass investors. One is called government bonds, and another one is called corporate bonds. Firstly, as its name, government bonds are issued by government with maturities up to about 30 years. Usually, medium term bonds and long term bonds pay out fixed amounts of coupon payments in semi-annually during the repayment period. But, the index-linked bonds pay out alterable amounts of coupon payments in semi-annually because of the changes in inflation. The reason of government bonds are always have a lot of attraction to investors is that investors are generally referred to government bonds as bonds being free from default risk. With this characteristic, government bonds are safer than most other financial instruments to invest. However, the high return always with the high risk and vice versa that government bonds offers lower yields. Secondly, the corporate bonds is the another one that are concerned more by investors in daily transaction activities. There are three main sources for corporates to raising finance for their investment projects, they are: retained earnings, non-marketable debtShow MoreRelatedAn In-Depth Analysis of the European Debt Crisis908 Words   |  4 Pageseconomic consequences, prevention as well as control of the European Debt crisis. A definition of the debt crisis is also provided. Recommendations on the way forward are also provided. 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The United States Was Justified in Dropping the Atomic...

On the 6th and 9th of August, 1945, the United States of America dropped the Atomic Bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The use of these bombs brought a quick end to World War 2, yet caused extensive damage to the two Japanese cities. There have often been disputes as to whether the USA was justified in the dropping of the atomic bombs because of the damage they caused, not only to the cities, but to the people of Japan as well. Many people believe that the USA should not have dropped the bombs because of the damage they caused, and they also claim that Japan was already defeated. However, Japan did not surrender, and prolonging the war was not an option for America, as it believed it would cause even more casualties, not only to American troops, but to Japan as well. Thus the USA was justified in dropping the bombs on Japan. America came into WW11 after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (K) in 1941, and the war between Japan and the USA ended when the atomic bombs were dropped in 1945. Japan had a very strong army, which had an estimated 5 million men (B). The Japanese troops believed it was honourable to die for ones country, and made use of Kamikaze pilots as one of their war tactics (B). The use of the Kamikaze pilots by Japan caused extensive damage to Americas sea going forces, and because death was glorified, the American troops had no means to fight them. There had already been over 3 500 Kamikaze raids which had caused great damage to the AmericanShow MoreRelatedWhy Truman Chose to Drop the Atomic Bomb895 Words   |  4 PagesAmericas decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan was only done to assert our position over the Soviet Union, and Japans surrender was only an extra accomplishment of the attack. 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Commentary on Sonnet ¨Atlantis¨ - 638 Words

â€Å"Around 350 BC, Plato wrote about a beautiful island in the Atlantic Ocean that went under the ocean waves in one day and one night†. â€Å"Atlantis – A Lost Sonnet† by Eavan Boland does not follow from head to toe the standards of a sonnet, being able to identify it by the length of 14 lines and its GG rhyme scheme at the end. This poem is able to move from a question about Atlantis to a memory of the author and finally to the overall meaning about memories. Boland is able to create a close and personal atmosphere throughout this sonnet through a first person narrator, the use of word choice and rhetorical questions. It is the type of narrator in a poem that helps the reader identify itself with. In this case, â€Å"Atlantis† is written in first†¦show more content†¦So why is a rhetorical question applied in this sonnet? It is primarily to achieve a stronger and direct statement with no need of answering the question. In this poem there are two questions at the start and middle part; â€Å"one fine day gone under? (4)... Surely a great city must have been missed?† (6), both of this are talking about Atlantis. In a sort of way, the author is being sarcastic because neither she nor we will ever know the true answer since it is a legend with thousands of explanations but neither one is 100% accurate. At the end, this types of questions cause the reader to connect to her judgments in a stronger way since they would also want to know how a city may disappear right under our noses. As a final point, the message of this powerful poem is understood in its last two most important li nes, â€Å"to convey that what is gone is gone forever and never found it. And so, in the best traditions of †¦ where we come from, they gave their sorrow a name and drowned it.† (12-14). Boland ´s simple rhyme, imagery, and use of personification create the final resolution of the author’s feelings and thoughts towards a past which cannot be recovered except with your

American US Alignment Free Essays

This research essay looks at the Latin American alignment with United States in the post cold-war era. Latin America has been associated with Soviet Union from the 1960s until the 1980s. Thus we will take a look on patterns in which US alignment has taken, taking in consideration political economic military and cultural connections. We will write a custom essay sample on American US Alignment or any similar topic only for you Order Now The essay illustrates factors reinforcing and causing tension for US-Latin America connection. Further will take look at the nature and extent of Latin America shift to leftward in the past decade as well as discuss the emerging alliances. From the findings it can be noted that United States hegemonic and coercive control transited to partnership and cooperation as a result of changes in the international system and limited resources of the United States. The factors contributing to this alignment include natural and human resources of Latin America; geophysical proximity and scarcity of resources in the world. It is concluded that this alignment have both beneficial and side effects to both involved. PATTERNS OF LATIN AMERICAN-US ALIGNMENT IN THE POST COLD-WAR ERA, CONSIDERING POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, MILITARY AND CULTURAL CONNECTIONS According to Klaveren (1992) Latin America has been viewed as a marginalized and abandoned continent. It has had little or distant influence on global politics due its geo-physical isolation. The region has been relatively been calm except during the Central American crisis of the 1980s. Klaveren (1992) elaborates that although Latin America has been peaceful externally it has had a history of internal conflicts in which foreign countries have not been involved except the United States. Due to interdependence and emergence of new rules in the global arena, there has been a change in redefinition of security concept. The United States redefines it in terms of drug trafficking, environmental protection and migration flow (Klaveren, 1992, p.29). Klaveren (1992) notes that geographical, cultural and political proximity of Latin America to US makes it player in supply of specialized and non-specialized labor to the aging population of United States. As a result they alleviate labor shortage to the later and aggravate brain drain in the former (Klaveren, 1992, p.30). Latin America has had good political ties and values with United States for a long time since World War 2. However there has been shortcoming in relation to human rights violation and democracy (Klaveren, 1992, 30). Economically Latin America trades with United States on several commodities, whereby the U.S. is a major market for Latin America motor vehicle parts, capital commodities and agricultural products (Klaveren, 1992, 27). There have been cultural ties between the U.S. and Latin America. Currently there is an influx of migrants from Latin America. They are progressively becoming large population in the U.S., which definitely has effect on U.S. life (Klaveren, 1992, 30). FACTORS THAT REINFORCE AND CAUSE TENSIONS IN THE LATIN AMERICAN CONNECTIONS WITH THE US Latin America possesses vast natural resources, for instance, Brazil is ranked among 10 top most powerful economies of the world while Mexico is in the second lot (Klaveren, 1992, 26). Latin America is endowed with mineral resources such as oil that is critical to world economy. Since Latin America has relatively developed industrial sector it is able to exports products to U.S. with the likes of Brazil and Mexico. More so, because of geo-physical proximity to U.S. they are able to supply specialized and non-specialized work force to them (Klaveren, 1992, 26). On the other hand a couple of factors cause tension with the U.S. one being the diversification of Latin American economies with inclusion of Japan and other developing countries. The lack of effective security measures in Latin America brings into fore the security concerns of U.S. with the increase of drug trafficking and proliferation of small arm (Klaveren, 1992, 26). THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF LATIN AMERICA’S SHIFT LEFTWARD OVER THE PAST DECADE. Latin America was formerly under American system from early 1960s but due to changes in the global economy it has moved from â€Å"natural segmentation to institutional integration based on geographic specialization† and has created their own niche so as to offer specialized services to the receiving end of the technological flow (Klaveren, 1992, 22, 27). Since the end of cold war, the influence of Soviet Union to Latin America  Ã‚   has declined. This resulted to difference in structural institutions of Latin America. For instance Brazil and Columbia had different positions on the liberalization of services in Uruguay Round (Klaveren, 1992, 39). Also, Klaveren (1992) notes that Brazil and Chile developed different alternatives to solve debt crisis after the 1980s Central American crisis. This gives us the complexity nature of Latin America in the post cold war era. The internal issues are as different as is the external. Therefore, only a collective action based on concrete and common interest (Klaveren, 1992, 39). Latin America internal issue could only be dealt on specific case by case and by sector to sector. This is observed when looking at how in the UN General Assembly, Latin America votes with other developing countries or in the third world. However, there is differentiation within the Third World countries that could make variation in the pattern of how Latin America will play in global power (Klaveren, 1992, 39). A number of challenges are yet to be tackled by Latin America such as â€Å"pleas for solidarity and just international order† which will seem to be unnoticed and changes in the international system will have a direct and long term effect on Latin America (Klaveren, 1992, 41). Thus the influence of the region to international system will depend on specific strategies, internal, economic and political environment in which the strategies will be based upon (Klaveren, 1992, 41). Each country will have to mobilize economic, political and strategic resources so as to impact the global system otherwise they will be isolated (Klaveren, 1992, 41). The individual country foreign policy must adapt to changing international system and that scarcity of resources demands careful and selective decisions on approaches and choices to make (Klaveren, 1992, 41). It is worth noting that although sound external strategies are good; they must be backed with domestic conditions for them to flourish (Klaveren, 1992, 41). THE EMERGING REALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE US AND LATIN AMERICA AND WITHIN THE LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES The new emergence in realignment comes in the wake of global changes and the different administration of the US over time. Varas (1992) explain that the gradual integration of Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean economies in the North American geo-economics space led to erosion of single Latin American region. The post Latin American will be characterized with sub region system with different economic, political and strategic weight. There foreign policy, he adds, that was once useful for hegemonic alliance is now obsolete and new paradigm is necessary to address regional and international changes (Varas, 1992, p.48). Within the Latin American countries should use broad based approach, which takes account of political, economic and cultural orientations.   The United States have now transited from a hegemonic and coercive control to partnership and cooperation control. In this regard, according to Varas (1992) the U.S. was no longer  Ã‚   dominant in the international system as well as had limited resources to control and support the hemispheric countries. Thus policies of free trade and decision-making were determined bilaterally in this new system. While the Latin America was agitating for liberalized world trade the U.S., advocated for open trade and cooperative approaches to international problems such as weapon proliferation, terrorism, international violence and environmental degradation (Varas, 1992, 51). The U.S. cooperation with Latin America is on security matters where it seeks to establish credible defense systems, which are effective in peaceful conflict resolution (Varas, 1992, 56). The U.S. is also helping to strengthen democratic institutions and human rights although democracy is still elusive (Varas, 1992, 67). More so U.S. is strengthening its ties with Latin America on socioeconomic issues, especially when considering immigrants to US. CONCLUSION The long-term effect of these developments will not lack the merits and limitation for either side. To the U.S. they will be consolidating their presence in Latin America and use low cost measures in ensuring security to its nationals especially when dealing with drug trafficking, greenhouse effect, terrorism and global violence. However, this is threatened by the increasing immigrants from Latin America to U.S. The U.S. will have to depend on immigrants for labor because of its low fertility rate and aging population. The Latin America will suffer brain drain although such scenario would provide employment opportunities for its emigrants. The Latin American countries will definitely have economy growth due to direct foreign investment, just international trade and transfer of technology. The emergence of new developed economies like Japan, China Korea and Taiwan add to long-term effects to Latin America. REFERENCE Klaveren, A. (1992). L. America international system. In   J. Hartlyn, L. Schoultz, A. Varas. (Eds.). The US Latin America in the 1990s and beyond (pp. 22-41). Latin America. UNC Press Varas, A. (1992). From coercion to partnership: a new paradigm for security cooperation in the Northern Hemisphere. In J. Hartlyn, L. Schoultz, A. Varas. (Eds.).   United States and L.   America. (pp. 48-67). Latin America. UNC Press. How to cite American US Alignment, Essay examples

General Electric Case Analysis free essay sample

GE used to prefer acquisitions or Greenfield ventures as an entry mode rather than joint ventures. Why do you think this was the case? According to our textbook, a firm can establish a wholly owned subsidiary in a country by building a subsidiary from the ground up, the so-called Greenfield strategy, or by acquiring an enterprise in the target market. Acquisitions have three major points in their favor. First, they are quick to execute. By acquiring an established enterprise, a firm can rapidly build its presence in the target foreign market. Second, in many cases firms make acquisitions to preempt their competitors. Third, managers may believe acquisitions to be less risky than Greenfield ventures. When a firm makes an acquisition, it buys a set of assets that are producing a known revenue and profit stream. On the other hand, the big advantage of establishing a Greenfield venture in a foreign country is that it gives the firm a much greater ability to build the kind of subsidiary company that it wants. For example, it is much easier to build an organization culture from scratch than it is to change the culture of an acquired unit. Why do you think that GE has come to prefer joint ventures in recent years? Do you think that the global economic crisis of 2008–2009 might have affected this preference in any way? If so, how? GE now sees joint ventures as a great way to dip its toe into foreign markets where it lacks local knowledge. Also, in certain nations, China being an example, economic, political, legal, and cultural considerations make joint ventures an easier option than either acquisitions or greenfield ventures. GE believes it can often benefit from the political contacts, local expertise, and business relationships that the local partner brings to the table, to say nothing of the fact that in certain sectors of the Chinese economy and some others, local laws prohibit other entry modes. GE also sees joint ventures as a good way to share the risk of building a business in a nation where it lacks local knowledge. Finally, under the leadership of CEO Jeffrey Immelt, GE has adopted aggressive growth goals, and it feels that entering via joint ventures into nations where it lacks a presence is the only way of attaining these goals. Fueled by its large number of joint ventures, GE has rapidly expanded its international presence over the past decade. For the first time, in 2007 the company derived the majority of its revenue from foreign operations. A joint venture entails establishing a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent firms. Joint ventures have a number of advantages. First, a firm benefits from a local partner’s knowledge of the host country’s competitive conditions, culture, language, political systems, and business systems. Second, when the development costs and/or risks of opening a foreign market are high, a firm might gain by sharing these costs and or risks with a local partner. Third, in many countries, political considerations make joint ventures the only feasible entry mode. I do think that the global economic crisis of 2008-2009 might gave affected this preference. In 2009, only 22% of all FDI inflows had been in the form of mergers and acquisitions which were reflected of the global economic crisis, which depresses equity values worldwide and made cross-border mergers and acquisitions less attractive as an entry mode. In the midst of the global economic crisis, the fact that joint ventures risks are shared among the partners is one factor that made joint ventures a preference. 3. What are the risks that GE must assume when it enters into a joint venture? Is there any way for GE to reduce these risks? First, as with licensing, a firm that enters into a joint venture risks giving control of its technology to its partner. However, joint-venture agreements can be constructed to minimize this risk. One option is to hold majority ownership in the venture. This allows the dominant partner to exercise greater control over its technology. But it can be difficult to find a foreign partner who is willing to settle for minority ownership and GE’s agreements normally give even the minority partner in a joint venture veto power over major strategic decisions, and control issues can scuttle some ventures. However, another option is to â€Å"wall off† from a partner technology that is central to the core competence of the firm, while sharing other technology. 4. The case mentions that GE has a well-earned reputation for being a good partner. What are the likely benefits of this reputation to GE? If GE were to tarnish its reputation by, for example, opportunistically taking advantage of a partner, how might this impact the company going forward? According to the text, GE is well known for its innovative management techniques and excellent management development programs. Many partners are only too happy to team up with GE to get access to this know-how. The likely benefits of this reputation to GE is that the company builds trust in the market, and looking like an attractive partner which GE can then access knowledge about local markets, driving profits up. If GE were to tarnish its reputation, the company would not look attractive to partners, therefore the company would have a hard time finding other businesses to enter into a joint venture. Also, the value of GE would deteriorate with the lack of trust from other businesses, which could lead to lack of trust of consumers.